JOHN TERRY’S parting words to his former Chelsea team-mates were to never let Tottenham finish above them.
The Blues legend played his 717th and final match for the club in a 5-1 home win over Sunderland in 2017.
Terry won 15 major pieces of silverware at Stamford Bridge during his illustrious career.
Therefore it is no surprise he would command respect from his old team-mates.
One of those included Cesc Fabregas who revealed Terry’s pearls of wisdom before hanging his boots.
Speaking to the Telegraph on the importance of rivalries ahead of England’s clash with Scotland, the Spaniard revealed: “There are certain players who really feel these rivalries and will make sure they do their best to make everybody else understand.
“Before John Terry was going to play his last game for Chelsea, he made a speech in which he told the players to make sure Tottenham would never overtake Chelsea or be better than them.”
Spurs would in fact finish above Chelsea in the following campaign before the Blues maintained their dominance over their London rivals.
Fabregas continued: “At Barcelona, it was Xavi and Carles Puyol who would make speeches and talk to some of the players about the importance of the Clasico and why Barcelona had to win.
“Of course, even though I moved to England, I had lived that rivalry my whole life and I had played in it through the youth teams for Barcelona, so I knew exactly what it meant when I rejoined the club.”
England and Scotland is the oldest fixture in international football and is steeped in history.
The last time the Three Lions took on the Scots in the Euros was back in 1996 when Paul Gascoigne scored one of England’s most memorable tournament goals.
Wembley historically hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Scotland – with England beating the Auld Enemy 18 times in 32 games at the home of football.
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